The Logistics of Hosting African Data Abroad

Data hosting has been an international business for a long time, but in recent years, a growing question about how to approach it has arisen, with African countries in a relatively unique position.

There are both benefits and drawbacks to choosing to keep digital information domestically or to outsource storage overseas. Let’s pick apart this issue and, ideally, leave you with a better understanding of why it’s so talked about today.

Speed, Reliability, Sovereignty

The interplay of these three factors is central to how the question of overseas data hosting is discussed in African countries.

When hosting takes place elsewhere in the world, connectivity can be a bottleneck. It takes time for bits and bytes to get from A to B. Travelling thousands of miles rather than tens or hundreds of miles affects service quality and productivity.

Host data locally, and speed becomes less relevant. However, the reliability issue arises. Power outages and grid inconsistencies in some parts of Africa create service delivery challenges for data centres.

Lastly, there’s the question of sovereignty. Send data abroad, and ownership becomes harder to pin down. Various African nations have begun establishing legal precedents that prevent the overseas storage of specific types of information for this reason.

 

These issues only apply to specific use cases, of course. For instance, when it comes to activities like online gambling, overseas hosting is the standard worldwide. That means players in South Africa can play these lucky numbers and bet on both domestic and international game outcomes. There’s no concern with service quality or security so long as a reputable, locally licensed platform is chosen.

Africa’s Growing Data Centre Market

The logistics of hosting African data abroad is quickly becoming a continental topic, rather than a global one. In other words, massive investment in data centre infrastructure across a number of African nations means we’re seeing a surge in opportunities for individuals and businesses to choose to keep their information within Africa, even if it’s stored across the border in a nearby country.

Locations like the Rack Centre in Nigeria and Teraco Data Environments in South Africa show that there’s both ample demand for data centre capacity and, moreover, the infrastructure needed to support it. 

The logistical side continues to be taken on by major multinationals like Google and Amazon. International know-how applied to Africa’s data hosting ecosystem is an attractive match. And again, it’s all about providing domestic users with choice.

The Bottom Line

Depending on the application, hosting African data abroad can still be the best option, as evidenced by activities such as online gambling. However, when issues like speed and data sovereignty arise, knowing that logistical challenges can be addressed by choosing a solution based in the same country or a close neighbour is reassuring.

Much investment is still needed to bring the underlying connectivity up to speed in certain parts of Africa, though the growing involvement of big tech companies from the US and elsewhere provides some relief. So in short, the future of data hosting is one of flexibility and service quality.